Padel was originally invented in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969. It is currently most popular in Spain and its former colonies, specially Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
In recent years, it has also gained relative popularity in European countries such as Italy and the Nordic countries, although it is now beginning to spread rapidly across Europe and to other continents, such as North America.
Rules of padel can be confusing, especially if it’s your first time to play padel. Determining valid or invalid shots, and understanding the point system, is difficult.
But, knowing the rules governing padel courts helps avoid errors and penalties.
This article will teach you to determine valid points and playable balls.
Knowing your side on the padel court is detrimental to determining whether you play aggressively or defensively.
Most players who play padel encounter common problems on which side they should play. Is it the left-hand side and left shoulder? Or the right-arm side and right shoulder?
If I’m left-handed, should I always play on the right side allowing my forehand and bandeja to be towards the middle?
If you want to learn more about which side of the court you “should” play, read on!
The mechanics of a padel match are constantly evolving. World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation incorporate new regulations to make the game more interesting.
The Gold Point was a new rule change introduced by the World Padel Tour in 2020. It’s recognized as one of the alternative scoring methods in padel.
But why was it called the gold point? Why is it coined as the sudden death of a game?
These could be a few questions you have in mind at the moment. You’ll have the answer to those and a whole lot more about the gold point of padel in this article which is a part of our Padel University series.
Service in padel is not as noteworthy compared to that of tennis. However, practicing the right way to serve the ball is still CRUCIAL in every padel match.
A good serve would help your team take advantage of the net position or even score a point by producing an ace. It’s also the shot that dictates the ball’s direction, spin, and trajectory.
In turn, you have the upper hand in forcing your opponents to press themselves at the back glass. You also have the power to dictate the shot that they’ll use for easy returns.
How padel players serve the ball is quite different from tennis players.
In tennis, you launch the ball up in the air before you serve. But, in padel, you only need to bounce and strike the ball, and you can only do it via an underarm serve.
Another thing to note with padel service is the lines. It’s important to keep your feet behind the service line and not cross the imaginary central line.
You must also hit the ball diagonally towards your opponent’s service box.
These are the BASIC things you must know about a padel serve. But, there are many things to note for you to improve that serve.
Stick with us as we discuss more about padel service. We’ll help you get on the move in your following games.
Americano is a “quick tournament setup” of padel that is normally played with non-fixed teams, and often more participants than six.
The main difference between a normal game of padel in terms of the scoring system, and an Americano setup is that each ball counts towards the total scoring.
As an example; each match is decided by playing a predetermined number of points (1 point per ball), for example, 21 points. If playing to 21 points per match, one team will serve four times and then the serve will switch to the other team.
An example result would be 14-7, this means that the players on the winning team will each take 14 points from the match, and the losing players will each take 7 points to their total points in the tournament.
Read on to learn how to play and organise an quick padel tournament using the Americano way.
